Covid death in Tamil Nadu: This variant had infected Trichy man

CHENNAI: A 27-year-old man who died in a private hospital in Trichy on March 11 was carrying the XBB variant of Covid-19, according to the results of the whole genome sequencing done in the state public health laboratory.
Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian said the Omicron continued to be the dominant variant among most people who tested positive for Covid-19.
Whole genome sequencing done on samples by the state public health laboratory since January showed that two sub-lineages of the Omicron variant -- BA.2 and XBB -- and their sub-lineages were found in more than 95% of the Covid-19 samples.
Omicron, which emerged in December 2021 causing the third wave, has outperformed the earlier Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants. It has also given rise to many more contagious sub-variants. Doctors and scientists say XBB and its sub-lineages are evasive of immune defences although there is no surge in hospitalisations or deaths.